Meet the 2017 CIPMM Mentors

Heather MacDonald,Director General, Procurement and Contracting, Royal Canadian Mounted Police

Heather was appointed to her current position in August 2015, after having been the Director of Procurement and Contracting at the RCMP since May 2012. In her current role she is responsible for the national procurement program at the RCMP, including managing the functional direction, policy and quality assurance program, as well as the procurement team providing procurement and contracting services within the headquarters area.

Prior to joining the RCMP, Heather was a contracting officer and manager at the former Public Works and Government Services Canada for a period of 11 years. She managed the telecommunications contracting division during a complex period of telecommunications deregulation, and managed large specialized procurement projects for health care requirements and health claims processing requirements.

Heather started her career in procurement and contracting at National Defence in the PG training program in 1989, and worked at DND in various procurement positions until moving to PWGSC in 2000.

Heather holds a Bachelor of Commerce Degree from the University of Manitoba and a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Ottawa.

Currently Director of Contracting of the Canada Revenue Agency. He started his career with Health Canada and moved to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans where he occupied positions of increasing responsibilities in the office of the Chief Financial Officer. In 2012 he led the transformation and centralization of the procurement services at Fisheries and Oceans. In 2013 he was appointed the Director of Materiel and Procurement Services and co-led the implementation of the Vehicle Fleet Reduction initiative and initiated the Inventory and Warehouse footprint reduction initiative.

In February 2015 he was appointed the Director of Contracting of the Canada Revenue Agency leading a team of exceptional Contracting Officers managing many complex procurement initiatives focusing on superior commodity management from the procurement planning phase to the disposal phase to better support the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) programs and business requirements.

Jean-Claude is currently leading the transformation of the Business model of the Contracting Division at CRA into an agile client-centric organization aiming at increasing the the scope of its spend influence, furthering the value delivered beyond hard-dollar savings, in part by emphasizing on-demand analytics and market intelligence, and introducing the advisory model for Supply Project Managers.

Since 2015, Vincent Robitaille is Executive Director - Central Agencies, Parliamentary Operations and Crown Corporations Directorate at the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS). He leads a team responsible for providing analysis and advice to Treasury Board Ministers on strategic resource allocation and effective program design. He is also responsible for the Center of Expertise on Crown corporations.

From 2007 to 2015, he held executive positions at Public Services and Procurement Canada, Global Affairs Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada. Since summer 2016, Mr. Robitaille is the President of the Canadian Institute for Procurement and Materiel Management.

Mr. Robitaille holds a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation, a Project Management Professional (PMP) designation and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from the University of Ottawa.

Richard Steele brings over 29 years of experience in procurement supporting the Department of National Defence.

After obtaining his Bachelor of Commerce degree from Carleton University, Mr. Steele joined National Defence in 1988 as a trainee in the Materiel Group’s Procurement Officer Development Program.

Over the next 29 years Mr. Steele held a variety of challenging positions, delivering a wide range of acquisition services within National Defence such as acquiring new strategic cargo aircraft and chartering helicopters in Afghanistan. As well, Mr. Steele has taken on leadership roles in several transformation initiatives such as Defence Renewal and the Defence Procurement Strategy.

Mr. Steele was appointed Director Major Project Services in January 2011 where he provided business management, comptrollership and procurement services to the two major project divisions within the Materiel Group at National Defence.

Mr. Steele was appointed to his current position as Director General Procurement Services in 2016. He is responsible for managing major service delivery initiatives as well as providing procurement services for information technology, communications and electronic equipment, and command and control systems. He is also the Champion for the Procurement Community at National Defence.

Tamara McNultyDirector, Procurement Parks Canada Agency

Tamara McNulty has held the position of Director, Procurement, Contracts and Contributions at Parks Canada Agency since November 2, 2015

Tamara holds a Bachelor of International Business from Carleton University, which took her to Mexico for a year of study abroad to learn the local culture and language in combination with her studies.

Tamara has extensive experience in procurement; having worked for 16 years in the federal public service. She began her career at Public Services and Procurement Canada (formerly Public Works and Government Services Canada) as an intern in their Supply Officer Trainee Program during which she pursued an assignment opportunity in Calgary to expand her experience in a regional office with a variety of commodities as well as to gain exposure working on G8 Summit procurement files. She also spent a developmental assignment working in the Procurement Quality Assurance Division as well as an assignment at Canada Revenue Agency (formerly the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency). She spent 4 years at PSPC before moving on to the CRA where she spent 11 years and throughout her career has taken on procurement roles of increasing levels of responsibility in leading various teams providing contracting services for goods, professional services and information technology. In her current role, Tamara leads a team of 49 employees in delivering procurement and contribution related internal services at an annual volume of over $7.250M to meet the Agency's Canada-wide mandate related to national parks, national historic sites and national marine conservation areas which includes the federal investment program (highways, bridges, heritage buildings, cultural assets, etc).

Richard Quinn is a former senior military logistician with over 30 years of experience. As a Logistics Officer he acquired all-embracing knowledge and experience in supply chain management which includes the acquisition, movement, accounting, storage and disposal of goods, business planning, performance measurement and budget management. He is well versed in the art of networking with departmental managers and executives to implement business objectives. He is an accomplished briefer and instructor.

His various employment assignments have provided him with extensive experience in offering advice to senior officials and resolving complex and sensitive issues, either personal or business-related. He has also developed a keen research and report writing capability, and has often served as the Subject Matter Expert in various fields of study such as Logistics Planning and Support, Change Management, Performance Management and Ethics.

He also has extensive experience mentoring, leading and managing many direct reports which includes dealing with their career development, performance reporting and enhancement and care for themselves and their families.

Lisa has over 30 years of experience in the field of government procurement and more recently in the areas of investment planning and project management. Lisa joined the federal public service as part of the Materiel Management Trainee Program at Supply and Services Canada (SSC) back in 1985. During her 13 years with SSC, now Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC), Lisa was responsible for the procurement of commodities such as Information Technology Goods and Services, Office Furniture and Clothing and Textiles. She led the development of the first National Master Standing Offer for Freestanding Office Furniture which led the way for the adoption of electronic catalogues supporting government procurement. She also worked in the Centre for Client and Supplier Promotions where she was responsible for the creation of “Contracts Canada” which was the precursor to today’s “Buy and Sell”. She then spent 9 years with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) where she was responsible for IT Professional Services contracting, during which time she was instrumental in establishing the first generation of the IT Supply Chain, a method of supply to support streamlined access to IT contracted resources. When CRA received full contracting authority through their agency legislation in 1999, Lisa led the development of the Compliance and Business Practices Division responsible for developing and implementing systems, processes and training to support the new set of authorities. In 2006, she joined Employment and Social Development Canada where she contributed to the implemented of a new business model for procurement in support of the new Asset and Acquired Services Policy Framework. This included the centralization of the procurement function, enhancing business processes and the implementation of SAP in support of the contracting function. Prior to leaving ESDC, she was given responsibility for the investment planning and project management oversight functions where she worked to enhance the maturity level of the department in these areas. In 2014, she joined the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) where she is currently responsible for the Policy on Investment Planning and the Policy on the Management of Projects. During her time at TBS, she has worked hard to build strong relationships with key stakeholders both internal and external to TBS. She is currently leading the review of the policies under the TBS Policy Suite Reset initiative.

Christine Perry, Retired Public Servant

Christine Perry brings with her over 34 years of public service experience across 7 departments. This includes working 20 years in Central Agency (TBS) and Executive roles in diverse, complex, demanding environments.

During the early days of her career, she worked as a financial auditor in the Public Service and then moved to the private sector in real estate and property. It was here that she developed a keen interest in contracting and continued to follow this path on her return to the Public Service. She developed a procurement policy framework for Labour Canada and was then able to move to a new position of Contract Manager, where she was responsible for the development and implementation of all service contracts as well as grant and contribution agreements.

She remained actively engaged in contracting throughout her career, whether as a program client or policy analyst. She was fortunate to negotiate maintenance contracts and leases on behalf of the National Capital Commission, real property project contracts and contribution agreements at Public Works and Government Service Canada, procurement and materiel management plans and contract or project authority approvals at Treasury Board Secretariat, and construction, maintenance and operating contracts at Transport Canada.

She firmly believes that procurement touches on all aspects of government work and that her wide base of experience positioned her well to move into executive roles. As Director General at Global Affairs (then DFAIT), she was responsible for Procurement and Materiel Management and directed the organization through the move to the new accountability framework (CFO model) and became a driving force for the reform of policy and professional development across government.

In 2012, Ms. Perry was presented with a Recognition of Achievement Award by the Canadian Institute for Procurement and Materiel Management (CIPMM) for her work as a leader in the Procurement, Material Management and Real Property community.

She is very pleased to participate in the 2017 CIPPM Conference and remains dedicated to the future of this community.

Dan Danagher is Assistant Deputy Minister, International Platform Branch, Global Affairs Canada. Mr. Danagher started his career in a trade capacity at External Affairs and International Trade Canada in 1983. He subsequently moved to Supply and Services Canada and the Canada Communication Group where he played key communications, procurement, and management roles in several high level projects including Canada’s pavilions at international expositions and the Washington DC chancery construction.

In the early 2000s, Mr. Danagher returned to the international orbit as the Director of Government On-Line at Foreign Affairs and International Trade. After a DG assignment at Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada in 2005-06, he served for several years as the Executive Director of Compensation and Labour Relations at TBS, leading key pan-governmental policy and legislative changes. More recently, Mr. Danagher served at the ADM level in human resources at the Canada Revenue Agency and Public Works and Government Services Canada before rejoining Global Affairs Canada in July 2015 as the ADM of the International Platform Branch.

Dan holds a B. Comm. (Carleton University) and an MBA (University of Ottawa).

Arun Thangaraj brings over 20 years of federal government experience, most recently as the Assistant Deputy Minister and Chief Financial Officer for the Global Affairs Canada. In this role, he is responsible for all aspects of corporate planning, IM/IT, financial planning and the management of operational, capital, grants and contributions funding for the Department. He holds an Honours BA from the University of Toronto, a Master in Public Policy and Public Administration from Carleton University, a Master of Business Administration from the University of Ottawa as well as a CMA/CPA designation.

Andrew Francis,Chief Financial Officer, Canadian Heritage

Andrew Francis is the Chief Financial Officer of Canadian Heritage. Previously he was the Deputy Chief Financial Officer at Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC). Andrew did hold other director and director general level positions at INAC and worked at other government departments at the director level including the Treasury Board Secretariat and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

Andrew attended Carleton University, completing both a Bachelor of Commerce and a Masters of Business Administration. He also holds the CPA-CMA (Chartered Professional Accountant); PFA (Chartered Public Finance Accountant) and CIA (Certified Internal Audit).

Having worked in government since 2001, Nicolas honed his skills in contracting and materiel management in various departments. Working in different capacities and with a multitude of clients, he acquired a series of skill sets that serve him to this day. He occupied positions of increasing responsibilities and had the opportunity to work on challenging and unique procurements where he exceled in successfully delivering on requirements that required innovative, “outside the box” approaches, some of which that have yet to be replicated to this day.

Nicolas has seen his fair share of change. He lead, negotiated and implemented changes relating to corporate services and departmental “splits” and “mergers”, all while successfully ensuring that operational requirements continued to be met during times of transition.

Nicolas excels in finding solutions to new challenges. Seen as a true corporate player, his leadership and strategic thinking skills are valued throughout the organization. Clients frequently call him about their “problems”, to which he likes to immediately respond: “You do not have a problem, you have a situation.”

Nicolas is currently the Director of Contracting and Materiel Management at Canadian Heritage. A believer of work-life balance, he manages his schedule to ensure that there is sufficient time for both professional and personal priorities. Nicolas is happily married and is the proud father of three daughters.

Normand Masse, Special Advisor, Procurement Modernization Integration Team Public Services and Procurement Canada

Mr. Masse has over thirty years of Canadian government procurement experience in progressively more responsible supply management positions. He has strong background in strategic sourcing for various goods and services as well as in major project management.

From 2011 to 2017, Mr. Masse held the position of Director General, Services and Technology Acquisition Management Sector, Public Services and Procurement Canada, providing national leadership for the management of complex IT shared systems and software procurement projects; specialized professional services including professional consulting, auditing, translation, interpretation and informatics services; defence space projects and research and development requirements.

Since 2017, Mr. Masse has held the position of Special Advisor to the Assistant Deputy Minister Procurement Modernization integration Team, Public Services and Procurement Canada and Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, guiding the development and implementation of modernization activities.

Christine Walker joined the CBSA as Chief Financial Officer and Vice-President, Comptrollership, in February 2015. She leads the Branch that provides national leadership for the Agency's financial administration, security and professional standards, infrastructure and environmental operations, and contracting and materiel management. Christine has extensive leadership experience in the Government of Canada, most recently as the Assistant Secretary, Corporate Services Sector, at the Treasury Board Secretariat. Previously, she was the Chief Financial Officer for the Canadian International Development Agency. Her other leadership roles in the public service include Director General of Finance, Senior Director of Finance and Informatics, and Director of Finance and Corporate Planning at the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions. Christine has also worked in the private sector in the financial, administration and information technology fields both in Canada and abroad. Christine holds a Bachelor of Arts in Financial Studies from the University of Western Ontario and is an accredited Certified Management Accountant. She has two active sons and a golden retriever named Freya. An avid sports fan, Christine has also played and coached competitive basketball and volleyball.

Dominique has had a diverse and stimulating career. After graduating from the University of Ottawa with an Honours Bachelor of Commerce and a specialization in accounting and completing the Certified Management Accountant program, she started her professional career at Loeb Inc. supervising the procurement department and next managing the franchise agreements for the IGA grocery store franchisees. Three children soon followed and Dominique turned her attention to a business venture where she would utilize her financial and management experience. Having sold the family business, Dominique joined the Public Service and held positions in the Finance Branches at Public Services and Procurement Canada and Global Affairs Canada (GAC). She now holds the position of Director General Corporate Services for the International Platform Branch at GAC. This includes directing: procurement operations both at HQ and abroad; diplomatic mail services; material management; logistics and distribution; strategic planning and reporting; financial management; and financial and HR administrative services. The variety in her portfolio and the high level of responsibility are what makes Dominique’s job so interesting. Throughout her career Dominique has and continues to contribute to her community via her positions on the Board of Directors of charitable organisations.

Guylaine is an engineer by training and was Director of a centre for scientific popularization before her debut as a public servant in 2000. Cumulating 16 years of experience in procurement, she has developed a true passion for this field. Guylaine has held several positions as a procurement specialist with PWGSC, Canadian Space Agency, and more recently with CIDA. She currently is the proud Director of Development Contracting Services for Global Affairs Canada.